The Next Logical Step
by kitkate1998
Summary: Things finally seemed to be going well for Mercy and Adam. Their relationship was great, and Mercy hadn't gotten into trouble for quite some time. How will this all change when another player enters the game unexpectedly? will they be able to handle the stress of taking the next logical step. Rated M
1. Chapter 1

I woke with a jolt, rolling out of the comfort of my bed, hurling myself towards the bathroom door. I stumble to the toilet eye barely open. Before I could make sure I was aiming correctly I retched into the bowl bringing up what seemed like a 3 course meal. This was strange because I had only eaten a few bites of my dinner that night. After emptying the contents of my stomach into the porcelain bowl, I sank all the way to the floor resting my cheek against the cool wall. I felt strong arms grip me under my armpit pulling me to my feet. Adam turned me to face him, looking into my eyes with concern.

"I told you there was something wrong with the roast," I mumbled. Still weak from my recent spell.

"There was nothing wrong with it Mercy, I thing you might have a stomach flu," He said this while checking my forehead to see if I had a temperature.

"Am I okay Doc, you think I'm gonna make it?" I said in a horrible impression of Donald Duck. This made him smile.

"If you can laugh about it I'm guessing you'll be fine, c'mon let me put you in bed and get something for your stomach," He started towards our bedroom, still holding me up.

"But I didn't brush," I protested meekly.

"Shhhh, don't worry about it, just get into bed." He pulled the covers back and helped me onto my side of the bed, tucking the covers around me like a small child. He pushed my hair back from my face and kissed me on my clammy forehead and whispered "I'll go get you some water and something for your upset stomach," with that he left the room, closing the door in halfway. I was asleep before he returned.

The next morning Adam woke me with a kiss saying something about going to work, and asking how I was feeling that morning. I was about to say "fine", when the scent of coffee wafted upstairs assaulting my senses. I threw the covers off my legs and bolted for the toilet. Adam followed me into the bathroom and held my hair away from my face as I heaved. When I had finished pouring the contents of my stomach into the toilet he pulled my t-shirt over my head and lead me into the shower with him, adjusting the pressure and temperature to one that would be more comfortable to me. He pulled me directly beneath the spray, then reached behind me to the shower caddy for my vanilla and lavender body wash and my purple loofah, he poured some body wash onto the loofah then set it aside so that he could hold me up with one hand and have the other hand working me over.

"You must be really ill to let me take care of you like this," he rumbled near my ear. "I think you should see a doctor about whatever this is," he continued tentatively.

"It's probably nothing, and throwing up that second time really did wonders for me… really, I'm fine," with that I grabbed the loofah from him and gently started scrubbing his left shoulder and chest with it, moving in small circles all the way to his right shoulder. It wasn't long before my gentle touches escalated, and we progressed to more intimate touching.

Fully clothed we made our way downstairs to the kitchen, where we found Jesse sitting at the counter eating toast with jam and a cup of coffee.

"How you people could drink that stuff is beyond me," I said, while Adam made his way over to the coffee pot to grab a cup for himself. "Did someone change the coffee; it's even more noxious today if you can believe that,"

"Nope, same good old regular coffee" Jesse said taking a big gulp of her own with a teasing smile.

"Well, I'm late for work," Adam said, giving me a provocative smile that made me blush all the way through to my core, "So I have to go, but Mercy I would feel a lot better if you ate something, and If you saw a doctor, at the very least went to the pharmacy. Take Jesse for moral support, and call me if its anything serious" with that he put his coffee mug in the sink and left.

Jesse turned in her chair and looked at me in a way that said she wanted to know everything. Just as I was about to assure her that everything was okay Ben walked into the kitchen, probably from one of the rooms in the basement.

"Morning," he mumbled, pushing past me, to get to the coffee. After he poured himself a mug, and took his first gulp, he turned to me with a less disoriented expression, "Boss said I'm supposed to make sure you take care of that stomach of yours, something about a stomach flu," he paused, looking at me questioningly. I sat at the counter with a sigh, grabbing an apple from the basket at the centre of the counter.

"I told him I felt fine. You know Adam, he worries too much,"

"Nevertheless I have, direct orders, and I'm not looking to get on his bad side,"

"What about my bad side?" I asked half-jokingly. Chuckling, he reached over and patted me on the head.

"Cute, now you two get your arses up, I do have a job you know?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A coyote, a werewolf and a human went to Walgreens… now to think of a punch line. I was only doing this to appease Adam and because it wasn't too far from my garage and did not put me out of my way much. I walked through the store to the lane with Pepto Bismol and grabbed a bottle.

I figured since I was there and I wasn't too late, (10 o'clock isn't late right?) I could just pick up a few things. I told Jesse and Ben my plans and they wandered off, presumably to do some shopping of their own. I was strolling through the aisle of feminine hygiene products when my eyes landed on a box of Kotex tampons. I automatically reached for them to place them in my basket; that was when it hit me. I couldn't remember having my period. I counted the weeks in my head hoping I was just a few days late. My period had never been extremely regular and it was normal for me to be a few day "late". Upon counting however, I realized that I was not a few days late, but almost three weeks!'

I put the tampons back onto the shelf and power walked to the end of the lane where I saw a young girl in an apron.

"Pregnancy tests, where do you keep the pregnancy tests?" I managed to choke out as it felt as though my throat was trying to strangle the words. The girl took one small step back from me, eyes wide with shock.

"Aisle 5," she said quickly, "There is supposed to be someone there to help you choose the most reliable test for you," without waiting to hear the rest of what she was saying, I dashed off to aisle 5. My heart was racing as I power walked through the store. I kept reminding myself that I had to remain calm, or else risk alerting Adam prematurely. _So what if I was pregnant, _I thought, _would that be the worst thing? _Well not the worst, but it could be bad. Things between Adam and I have finally began to settle into a normal, comfortable routine. Jesse and I have had more good moments than bad lately; heck even things with the pack were getting easier. But who knew what a kid could do to that? To take something so fragile and put a baby in the mix might just be disastrous.

Apparently the woman who was supposed to "help" me was late for work, and so I was spared the awkwardness of refusing her assistance. Grabbed a couple boxes and dumped them in my basket, making sure there were at least a few boxes of "First Response" in there. I then power walked to the cashiers, thanking God that there was hardly anyone in the lines, that way I could try to cash before Jesse and Ben returned. The woman working the register gave no notice of my items (I guess she'd seen stranger things on the job) and bagged my items in record time. Jesse and Ben had still not turned up so I went to the entrance to wait on them. Ben was the first to surface muttering about America not having any good "shops". Thankfully he was too preoccupied by his rant to notice anything off about me. About 3 minutes later Jesse showed up with her basket and went to the cashier nearest to us. I walked over to her to offer to pay for her items, but she dismissed it easily, saying how much money she had mad waitressing and babysitting.

After paying for her stuff, we all made our way to where Ben parked his truck and piled in. I was silent the entire ride home which went unnoticed by Ben and Jesse who were locked in a heated argument about some controversy over a pop star. The drive home seemed to go on forever and I had never been happier to see the driveway.

I hopped out of the truck as soon as Ben turned the hand breaks. I held my bags tightly, and all but sprinted up the porch stairs. As I made my way to my room, I heard Ben call out that he would be leaving for work, and wondering if I needed anything else. "Nah, I'm good, think I'm gonna stay at home today though," I called out, and waited until I heard the front door close. Jesse was still here however. I dropped the shopping bags onto the floor and went into the kitchen to get something to drink. I had bought about 12 different tests and would need a lot of fluids.

I grabbed the first thing I saw when I opened the fridge, which was a can of Arizona iced tea. I was so caught up in my own head that I didn't hear when Jesse walked into the room.

"Mercy area you okay? You've been acting kind of weird today," she said tentatively. I jumped and turned to face her slowly, shutting the fridge door in the process.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired. I think I just need to go lie down for a while," I said hoping she wouldn't question me further. "Hey actually, can you call the shop and tell tad I won't be in today?"

"Sure, I'll probably skip today as well, I'm already late and you look sweaty and pale," she commented in a questioning tone. It was easy to tell that she wanted to know what was up, but didn't want to push too far.

I didn't want to say anything prematurely, but I also needed to tell someone, or risk my head imploding. My mother was out of the question, so were the females in the pack, for obvious reasons. Jesse seemed to be the safest bet.

"Jess, I think I'm pregnant," I blurted. I braced myself for her reaction. I did not expect the one I got.

"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! I may be having a little brother or sister!" she hugged me suddenly, squealing unintelligible things near my ear. Releasing me she asked "Does dad know?"

"Nope, I only suspected today when we got to Walgreens. I didn't want to say anything unless I knew for sure, either way"

"Are you going to take a test now?"

"Yup, that's what the tea is for,"

"Then why are we still standing here?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was a little after 6 when Mercy heard Adam pull into the drive. She was currently sitting in a warm bath she had drawn about ten minutes earlier. Her mother had recently embarked on a series of projects which included aroma therapeutic bath pouches (little pouches filled with petals, essentials oils and other unknown things), candle making and gardening. My bath room was filled with things she had sent Adam and I. I was currently making use of the bath pouch and the scented candles. The entire house smelt of vanilla, chamomile and lavender.

Earlier in the day I sat in this very bathroom, waiting to know my fate in the form of a little plastic wand covered in pee. I had done about seven of the twelve or so I picked up before I decided to accept that I was pregnant. Jesse had left the house about an hour earlier giving me some alone time Adam. I was contemplating how to give him the news when he walked into our bedroom. I heard him pause, probably sensing and adjusting to my mood. I head as he put his briefcase in the closet, sat on the bed to remove his shoes, and as he walked over to the dresser to deposit his watch and cufflinks. Finally, he made his way to the bathroom, where I was impatiently waiting.

The closer he got the more anxious I became, something I was not used to feeling around Adam. Your mate was supposed to soothe you for chrissakes! With closed I eyes, I felt, more than heard his presence. He said nothing, but I could hear the rustle of his clothes as he started to undress, then, the disturbance of the water as he entered the tub, sitting on the side with the faucet so that he was facing me. He lifted my legs and put them on top of his thighs; he then gripped my left ankle and started rubbing my feet. We sat like that for about 5 minutes before he broke the silence.

"Mercy I can't take this anymore, this silence will drive me crazy," he blurted, "I mean, you don't have to tell me what's wrong but can you at least look at me? Was it something I did? Or someone in the pack?"

"You didn't do anything. Well, you did but-"

"Whatever it is we can get through it if you just give it a chance. I'm not sure what happened, but I love you and I know we can figure it out-"

"Adam I'm pregnant,"

"What?!" he asked, seeming genuinely surprised.

"We're going to have a baby," I said softly waiting for the enormity of what I had just said to settle.

Upon hearing this he sat staring blankly past me for a while. Quite a while. This time it was I who broke the silence.

"Say something!" I demanded. Instead of responding, he assaulted me with the mental image of me in coyote form wrapped around a fat, rosy, sleeping toddler. Then another of his wolf chasing after a ball thrown by a child, and another of a teenager getting ready for prom. Then sitting with me as we watched our child graduate.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a tear filled voice.

"Well I took seven tests, and they were all positive. So I'd say yes, I'm pretty sure" that was when I saw a tear.

"I've wanted this for so long, a real family with you. You have no idea how happy you continue to make me," his words eased some of the discomfort in my chest. While Adam was still distracted, I hopped out of the tub not bothering to dry of and walked over to the cupboard where I had taped the pregnancy tests to the underside of a shelf. One of the tests in hand I walked back to Adam to give him visual affirmation. Seeing proof seemed to bring him back to reality. He got out of the tub, and I was momentarily stunned by the sight of water dripping down his muscled body. He reached out grabbed me by the arms, pulling me towards his body, and kissed me. The kind of kiss that made all your worries and doubts fade away. The kiss seemed to last forever and yet no time at all. Then Adams mouth stilled and he pulled back with a concerned look.

"Earlier you seemed really stressed, was it because you were afraid of how I would react or because you don't want to have a baby with me?"

"Well I'll admit, I wasn't sure how you would react but that's not the reason. I want to have a baby with you I just wasn't sure that I wanted one now. Things have been so great lately and I'm fearful of how a baby would impact us,"

"Mercy, I've told you before, whatever happens we can handle it, together," he closed the space between us again and we picked up where we left off. He then grabbed my thighs and lifted them to around his waist, "Now it's time for me to show you one of the many perks of being an Alpha's wife."

At around 8 that night Adam and I were sitting at the kitchen counter eating pizza and enjoying each other's company, when Jesse walked into the room. She made a beeline for the pizza and had half a slice already in her mouth when she asked, "Did you tell him yet?"

"She did, chew with your mouth closed," Adam said, to which Jesse smiled and swallowed loudly.

"Was he excited?" she inquired.

"I was,"

"Good. Now let's start talking baby names. I was thinking something unisex…"

**A/N Okay so I don't know if I said this already but this is my first attempt at fanfic writing, and I would really appreciate and tips or suggestions from some of you more accomplished writer out there. Feel free to leave reviews, let me know if you like the story so far. I'm also looking for someone to be a beta for this story (someone that would read, edit, someone I can bounce ideas off of. This job will include a lot of ranting on my part :P) if you are interested in that, message me.**


	4. Chapter 4

Quick Note: Before you read this chapter I just want to say a quick "Thank you!" to anyone who reviewed my story, it was very much appreciated. This would be the time to follow this story if you enjoy it because from this chapter on it will be rated M.

Chapter 4

It had been about a week since I told Adam the news, but I knew the worst was yet to come. I had spent countless hours thinking about how I would tell my mother. Here I was, a thirty two year old married woman, who was afraid to admit to her mother that she was engaging in sexual activities. And that I had become pregnant as a result of said sexual activities.

Well if I was being honest I was more afraid that she would smother me trying to get close to her grandkid. Although I was an adult and had long ago come to terms with my mother leaving me, I was afraid that she would try extra hard to make that up with her grandchild, suffocating Adam and I in the process. She could be a bit bossy and sometimes disregarded what anyone else wanted. There was also the issue of telling the pack, which I would try to hold off on. Werewolf pregnancies were iffy, throw in a shape shifting mother and who knew what to expect. Adam and I had yet to discuss the likelihood of the child not making it to term but I knew that that was a possibility. Hence, I didn't want to inform the pack until I was fairly certain. About three months or so.

Adam has been off the wall for the past week, and already I was dreading the next eight months. He is usually a very controlling, anxious person, but my pregnancy has made him downright impossible. The morning after I told him I was pregnant we had one of the biggest fights in the history of our marriage.Adam didn't want me to go into work even though I had not been the day before. He tried to insist that I call Zee and ask him to cover for me. I argued stubbornly that if I stopped working in my first month of pregnancy, that I might as well hand the shop back over to its original owner, to which he replied, "There's an idea," which cause me to argue stubbornly for about twenty minutes. I knew he was just worried about me though, so I eventually compromised by agreeing to stay home until I saw a doctor, then if everything was cleared with the doctor, I would return to the shop to assist Zee.

Our first appointment with the doctor was at 11 o'clock and I was so nervous that I couldn't eat. Adam was not having that.

"Mercedes you need to eat,"

"I know that," I snapped, then in a more gentle tone, "I just… I'm nervous Adam,"

"About?"

"I want this to go okay. I want this child to be born without complications, I haven't exactly had the best luck for the past few years and I hope things go alright." When I looked at Adam I could tell that I was not the only one plagued by these fears. Instead of responding he went to the pantry and pulled out a packet of granola bars, then he got me an apple and a glass of water. He came over to me and placed the loot in front of me, removing the scrambled eggs and pancakes he had prepared earlier. Returning to his own breakfast he finally addressed the issues I had brought up.

"I really want this to go smoothly, but we have to prepare ourselves for possibility that it might not, I mean you know how many children of werewolves reach full term, the fact that you are a shape shifter may increase the odds, it may not. No matter what happens I'm with you all the way. You shouldn't worry about things that have yet to come," he said seriously, then added "Now finish your breakfast,"

We arrived at my OB/GYN's office at 10:40. I waved at the sweet, old receptionist at main desk, who smiled and greeted me as she usually did. We took a seat on the hot pink chairs lining the left wall. Being in the office of the doctor I had been seeing sing I was 21 was comforting in a way that nothing else had been. The pale pink wall which I usually hated, had a very shooting effect today and, bonus, it was funny to see how uncomfortable all the pink and diagrams of vaginas made Adam.

I picked a magazine from the pile in front of me and began to read November's hottest beauty tips. Beside me Adam was doing his best to remain calm. Every now and again he would shift in his seat, or run his hands through his hair. After 5 minutes he picked up a magazine, and tried to immerse himself into the words of _Women's Fitness. _He gave that up in about 3 minutes. He then leaned forward resting his elbows onto his knees and tapped his foot. We were one of three couples, with a few other women. The men all seemed to have the same reaction to the vagina themed waiting room. I reached out with my left hand and massaged the nape of his neck just above the collar of his shirt. The contact seemed to ease some of his tension and he leaned into my touch with a sigh.

At about 11:10 the receptionist called out "Mr and Mrs Hauptman the doctor will see you now,"

"You ready?" I asked Adam. He got up and took my hand, escorting me into the main exam room.

I was lying on the exam table in a hospital gown, with my legs in the stirrups while Dr Maria Diaz did a Pelvic exam on me. She had begun the appointment by asking a long list of questions about things I had never given any thought to, my families medical history, Adam's family's medical history. Then she had me do a series of tests and exams. When she was finished sticking what seemed like her entire set of tools into me and was satisfied with the state of uterus she settled into her chair to begin what she liked to call "the Talk".

"Okay, since this is your first child I am going to have to give you the whole speech. I would love it if you did not interrupt me, file all questions away until I'm finished," her words were stern but her easy smile remained. I felt Adam squeeze the hand he was holding. I listened intently as Maria lecture us about the importance of adopting healthy habits for the next 8 months. The lecture lasted about 20 minutes then she gave me prenatal vitamins and a suggested meal plan. When she was finished she asked if we had any questions.

"Will I be able to work?" I blurted.

"I'm not sure; you are being exposed to a lot of toxins, also lifting heavy objects. While I won't say_ no, _I will have to ask you touse extreme caution at work. I remember you had someone who would come in from time to time to help you at work, it would probably be a good idea to ask him to come in." Adam asked her a few more questions, but I wasn't listening I was more preoccupied with the fact that I was basically unemployed.

"Oh, I almost forgot, your expected due date is September 18th, bear in mind this is not set in stone, many factors can come into play. And Mercedes, have a wonderful pregnancy," and with that she left the exam room.

Adam and I spent the rest of the day together. We had lunch at a restaurant, where Adam held my hand throughout the entire meal. Then we went to a park in Kennewick and sat on a cold park bench watching old men strolling leisurely, and dedicated joggers, braving the cold January air. When I started to shiver we decided it was time to leave.

When we got back to the house it was still well before anyone else would be home, and we did not hesitate to take advantage of our time alone. Before he had even gotten the door closed Adam was pulling me towards him, and unbuttoning my coat. He pulled it off my shoulders and tossed it on the floor. He brought his lips down on mine forcefully. He wrapped his hands around my waist pressing himself to me. I revelled in the feeling of his length pressed against me. His lips left mine in favour of the hollow of my neck just about my shirt's neckline. He sucked on the flesh there until it stung, and then placed a kiss over the red mark. The flagrant possessiveness both angered me and turned me on greatly. I felt his hands as they slid over my hips to cup my ass. Then he lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. His lips were back on mine as he walked into the sitting room. My hands were in his hair, tugging it, trying to convey how urgently I needed him.

Without warning he threw me onto the antique fainting couch (Who has an antique fainting couch?), and treated me to the most delectable strip tease ever. I propped myself up onto my elbows to better view the piece of art that was my husband. When he had successfully removed his shirt, belt and shoes, he reached out to help me with my clothes. I unsnapped my jeans while he removed my boots; he then yanked my jeans off roughly. My panties were treated similarly. He dropped to his knees, and pushed my legs up so that my feet were on the cushion, knees in the air. I felt him hovering over me, breathing over the most sensitive part of me. The feeling of his warm breath fanning over my flesh was almost enough to send me over the edge. Just when I thought I was going to have to beg him to touch me I felt his lips press gently against me. I lifted my hips as I felt him deepen his kiss, his warm mouth sucking gently on my clit. He grabbed my hips so that I would stop wiggling and continued his ministrations on my slit. And when I thought I couldn't take any more he roughly shoved two fingers into me all the way to the knuckle. I yelp in surprise as my orgasm ripped through me.

I threw my head back on the couch and waited for my body to recover. When my breathing sounded less like a death rattle and my heart rate evened out, I reached out trying to get Adam's attention. I chuckled as I realized his lips were still firmly on my lower ones, his fingers still inside of me. He removed them slowly and placed one last kiss against my now oversensitive skin, causing tingles to radiate from my hips outward.

"Why don't we finish this upstairs," I suggested in a breathy, hopefully provocative voice. In response Adam picked me up and walked with me to the bedroom bridal style. I checked my watch and saw that we had at least an hour before anyone would be home. I planned on using every single one of those minutes.

A/N: This was my first attempt at a sex scene in this story so I didn't want to jump into the deep end on this one; I believe it was fairly tame? Anyway tell me if you guys liked it. Fave and Follow for Mercy/Adam time, see you guys in the next chapter -Kate


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_5 weeks later_

It was a lovely sunny morning and I was preparing to do something I had been dreading since the beginning of my pregnancy. I was going to announce it to the pack. Adam and I had been to our third OBGYN appointment earlier that week, and after being assured by Dr. Maria that everything was fine, we had decided not to put it off any longer. He called a pack "meeting" over breakfast.

The usually spacious house was now packed with 40 or so werewolves. The kitchen was in pandemonium, with pots and pans filling the sink and most of the surrounding counter space. The masses had been fed and everyone was basking in the afterglow of Daryl's homemade pancakes, well except the men in the living room who were arguing about football. Adam who had been at my side all morning, making sure I was eating enough and insisting that I didn't get up for anything, got up and called out to his wolves. When they all shuffled into/near the room, he told them of our exciting news.

"I'm sure you are all wondering why I asked to meet today in such an informal capacity. Mercy and I are expecting," he stated, matter of fatly. There was no reaction as if everyone was waiting for Adam to clarify. Up until that point I had been unable to meet the eyes of the wolves, fearful of their reactions. I then scolded myself for allowing them to affect my happiness. Suddenly I felt giant arms wrap around me and in his usual southern drawl I heard Warren yell "Congrats you two," his outburst seemed to have clued in the others, as one by one they began respectfully approaching us with well wishes.

A few faces stuck out to me. Honey and Aurielle, who were unable to look me in the eyes, Ben who seemed genuinely, and surprisingly happy, and Mary Jo who seemed unable to truly hide her jealousy. And of course Warren who was wearing his cat-in-the-cream expression.

About half an hour later when most of the pack had cleared out, save for Ben and Honey. I went upstairs to get ready for church, I would need divine intervention to get me through the phone conversation I would have with my mother later that day. After a very appropriate church service (the bonds of marriage, the joys of procreation within said union) I sat in my caar in the parking lot of the church and decided to just get the whole thing over with. My hands shook as I dialled the familiar number, I let the phone ring a few times then hung up. My heart was racing; I couldn't believe that at my age I was still _this _intimidated by my mother. I sighed deeply, and as I prepared to go home and procrastinate a bit more, my phone started, vibrating in my hand. I looked at then number on the phone for about ten seconds before answering.

"Hi, mom-"

"Mercy, what's wrong?" she asked in a worried tone, which made me snort in a very unladylike manner.

"Does something have to be wrong for me to call my mother?" I asked innocently.

"Mercedes, you call me once a week, sometimes holidays. I assumed the worst when you called twice in one week."

"…."

"Mercy?" she asked starting to sound panicked again, "What is it hun? Everything okay with you and Adam? Are you in some kind of trouble?" she demanded.

"Nope, Adam and I are fine…" I took a deep breath and tried to speed through the revelation "Better than fine actually, we're pregnant,"

"… Are you serious? How far along are you? Does he know? God, please tell me I'm not the last to know," I release the breath I had been holding as I realized how excited she sounded. Who would have though Margi Thompson would be this happy to be a grandmother? She continued on in a more solemn voice, "Mercedes, I know I wasn't the greatest mom, and you and I have a sometimes very tense relationship, but I'm hoping that you will allow me to be a bigger part of your life now, and the life of my grandchild. I really hope it's not too late for us to have that.

"…"

"Mercedes? Say something, please,"

"I, I… Of course you can," she said after a somewhat awkward pause. Margi let out a relieved pause and for the first time I realize that it must be hard for her to ask this of me when our relationship had been so uncertain for so many years. After revealing the big news we settled into a more friendly conversation.

"I didn't even know you two were trying," she said with a touch of sadness, and in true Margi form, annoyance.

"We weren't, it was a complete surprise," I said.

"How did he react?"

"Better than I did that's for sure, I panicked instantly, Adam, he seemed excited…" my response ended in a smile as I remembered just how_ excited _he was that evening. We chatted for quite some time as I filled her in on the past three months, my appointments with the OB, telling the pack, my pregnancy symptoms. After about an hour and a half, and at least 10, missed calls from Adam, we said our goodbyes. On the drive home I couldn't help but smile at the way the conversation had gone. I had expected my mother to be demanding and pushy, yet she had surprised me. It was funny I had never pegged her for the nurturing type, and then again she had been the head of the PTA at my sisters school.

I must have still been smiling when I walked into the house, because Adam's panicked expression suddenly softened when he saw me come through the door. He stopped his frantic pacing to pull my body towards him. I felt his relieved intake of breath the his soft words at my ear.

"Ten more minutes and I was sending out the troops. I though we agreed no disappearances without at least a phone call?"

"I'm sorry, I decided to call my mother from the parking lot, and I lost track of time, "at that he pulled back to look at me, his eyes searching my face.

"How did it go?" he asked tentatively.

"She was…excited. I didn't know she wanted to be a grandmother, she always joked about being too young. Though I think it has more to do with me than this child,"

"How so?"

"I guess she sees this as a second chance with me. That she can be a bigger part of my life through this child," Adam leaned in placed a comforting kiss against my temple.

"Good,"

Monday morning I was back in the shop. I had gotten used to my daily routine with Zee. I would come in at about 8 to find him already in the shop working on whatever we had lined up for the day. I would go to the office and handle any administrative work that needed to be done. I had basically turned into an assistant in my own shop, doing paper work, inventory, getting lunch. Zee never asked why I needed help in the shop, and I never said anything, I could tell that he enjoyed being back to what he was good at.

Today I had driven to the taco wagon down by the river and gotten a few for Zee and myself. I was leaned against a car in the garage, wolfing down the last of my tacos when I felt someone staring at me. I looked up to see Zee gazing at me with his eyebrows pulled together.

"What was that like five tacos?" he asked bemusedly.

"I was hungry, sue me," I managed around a mouthful of beans and meat.

"Mercedes, you should probably try to improve your diet for the sake of that kid, all this fast food and soda isn't doing you any favours,"

"Excuse me," I stuttered.

"That child is way too young for such a consistent diet of saturated fat and sugar," he continued in an almost grandfatherly tone.

"How did you know? Did Adam tell you?"

"I am old, Mercedes. I see things, I did not need anyone to tell me anything," he said seriously, then continued in a lighter tone "Didn't stop your wolf from threatening to kill me if I did not take care of his wife and unborn child though,"


End file.
